Cooking Trout

While catching trout is a blast, eating them can be even more fun – if you know how to cook ’em.



To find out how to do trout up right, I contacted the foremost authority on the subject, Scott Leysath – also known as the “Sporting Chef.”

 Scott is the co-host of “Hunt-Fish-Cook,” a popular TV cooking/hunting/fishing show. He’s also the author of many magazine articles on cooking wild game, and has written a book on the subject. In short, Scott knows how to cook anything you can shoot or catch.

I told him I’ve been in a rut when it comes to preparing trout. I usually just wrap the fish in foil, add some lemon, butter, pepper and garlic and throw it on the barbie. It tastes great this way, but a little variety once in a while isn’t such a bad thing. If you’re like me and are looking for a new way to cook your catch, Scott suggested his trout with herb vinaigrette recipe.

 He said you can bake, broil or pan-fry trout this way, but his favorite method is to throw it on the grill. My kinda dude!

Anyway, here’s how to impress your family, friends and taste buds:

 To make a four-serving meal, start with four one-pound trout (cleaned with the head on). You’ll also need:

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of salt,

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

one teaspoon Dijon mustard

two minced garlic cloves

one tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh chopped herbs

On the herb front, go with whichever ones you like best or what’s in-season at the supermarket.

“First, butterfly the fish,” he says. “To butterfly, use a sharp boning knife and, starting at the head, run the knife between both sides and the spine. This will separate the bones from the spine and fish can be opened up flat. After cooking, the bones can be easily removed. Then, you’ll want to season fish with salt and pepper.”

After that, it’s time to make the herb vinaigrette. Scott says to combine your remaining ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Next, you’ll need to baste the fish with the vinaigrette mixture in the jar and let everything stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Now, the fun part!

“Place your fish, skin-side down on a medium heat barbecue,” he says. “Cover the fish with the lid or foil for five minutes, then baste again and give the fish a quarter turn with a spatula. Cover again and cook for five minutes more.

 At that point, your fish should be done throughout. If your trout turns out too dry, don’t blame the fish – you’ve overcooked it. When done, remove the bones and serve with your vinaigrette mixture on the side.”

Yum! I’ve tried several of his recipes and they’ve all been outstanding! For more innovate and tasty ways to cook your favorite fish and game, check out his Web site, www.thesportingchef.com.

How to catch trophy bass (and maybe even a world record!)

So you’ve been out there bass fishing for years and years and haven’t caught anything over 10 pounds. You feel like you’ve been doing everything right because you always seem to catch fish, but just not the big dogs. What gives? Well, read on, my big bass-free friends!
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Jigs for pre-spawn bass

So, as bass get into a pre-spawn mode, how do you go about catching a boatload of lunker largemouth like these dandies (part of a 5-fish limit that weighed 34 pounds) that Big Fred Contaoi caught in Texas?

Fish jigs…that’s how.

To find out exactly how to approach the pre-spawn time frame, we went to our bassin’ guru, Big Fred, who said that he often targets fish before the spawn in deeper water, tight to structure.

“If the water’s in the 50’s, you can bet that the bass will be getting active — feeding and trying to bulk up for the spawn,” he says. “Jigs are a good bet for the bigger fish at that point.”
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Rigging plastic worms for steelhead fishing

It’s no secret that steelhead love pink plastic! Here’s a quick and easy way to rig up…

Trout Trollin’ with Flies

Okay, so the die-hard purist fluff chuckers may not approve of this, but one of the best ways to catch trout in the high country in the early season is to troll flies on light spinning tackle.

It’s an extremely deadly technique when the fish are up near the surface and I’ve had some memorable days in the Sierras dragging feathers and glue around. It’s a relatively simple technique, but there are a couple little things you can do to improve your success….
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What’s the best plug color for steelhead?

With winter steelheading in full force along the West Coast and portions of the Great Lakes right now, it’s time to talk plugging!

Backtrolling plugs such as Hot Shots, Wiggle Warts, FatFish, Tad Pollies and the like is extremely deadly at times and is a great way to get inexperienced or young anglers who don’t cast well into some fish.
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Tuning Steelhead (& Salmon) Plugs

You can have the world’s hottest new steelhead plug in fishiest color of all time, but if that thing isn’t tuned right, you’d be lucky to catch a squawfish….

How to tie an Egg Loop….Back by Popular Demand

It must be steelhead season because I’ve been getting a bunch of “how do I tie an Egg Loop?” emails lately. So, I drug an old classic back outta the vault…

See how to tie the “Pimped-Out” Egg Loop here.

How to catch winter bass

Now that the cold weather months have arrived, it’s time to give up bass fishing right? Well…not so fast!

While it is true that bass will get more lethargic as the water temperatures drop, you can still have some seriously good days of fishing in the winter…if you keep some basic principles in mind.

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Wait…wait…wait to set the hook on salmon & steelhead plug bites.

Save yourself from yourself…put those rods in the holders and wait until the line is ripping off the reel!

Salmon and steelhead plug bites: wait, wait, wait! from Fish with JD on Vimeo.

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